Floyd Cardoz, Top Chef Masters Winner, Dead of Coronavirus Complications
Chef Floyd Cardoz, who won Season 3 of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, died Wednesday due to complications from the coronavirus. He was 59.
Hunger Inc. Hospitality, the company that Cardoz co-founded, confirmed his death in a statement, sharing that he had “tested positive for COVID-19, in USA, on March 18 and was being treated for the same at [New Jersey’s] Mountainside Medical Center.”
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The day that he tested positive for the coronavirus, Cardoz had revealed in an Instagram post that he had admitted himself to a New York hospital, as a precautionary measure, after feeling feverish.
In addition to Top Chef Masters, Cardoz had appeared on several other culinary series, including episodes of Iron Chef America (as a challenger against Bobby Flay in 2008), Worst Cooks in America (as a judge) and the Netflix docuseries Ugly Delicious.
“Bravo and the Top Chef family are deeply saddened by the passing of Chef Floyd Cardoz,” a Bravo spokesperson said in a statement. “Floyd was a talented chef who competed and won Top Chef Masters. He was thoughtful, kind and his smile illuminated a room. He was an inspiration to chefs around the world and we offer our deepest sympathy to his family and friends.”
Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi also offered her condolences on Twitter:
.@floydcardoz made us all so proud. Nobody who lived in NY in the early aughts could forget how delicious and packed Tabla always was. He had an impish smile, an innate need to make those around him happy, and a delicious touch. This is a huge loss… pic.twitter.com/Q6eRVIpZkL
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) March 25, 2020
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